Diving board construction



March 15, 1938. A. L. ROBBINS 2,111,078

DIVING BOARD CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 1, 1937 MWMYMW FFICE iJNiTED STATES PATE DIVING BOARD CONSTRUCTION Arthur L. Robbins, Anderson, Ind., assigner `to American Playground Device Company, Anderson, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application February 1, 1937, Serial No. 123,402

6 Claims. (Cl. 272-66) y This invention relates to diving board construc- Intermediately'of the ends of the board is potions and more particularly to that type of board sitioned Va'fulcrum composed of side members l0 in which the board member itself is composed of rigidly mounted cross members Il. The side a resiliently fiexible material. members include vertical webs l2 and horizontal s; In many of the present day types of diving longitudinal bearing surfaces I3. The bearing 5 board constructions, the board is anchored at surfaces and webs are so shaped that an upper one end and providedwith an intermediately poarcuate board contacting surface is provided lonsitioned fulcrum. The' board itself is generally gitudinally of the board. The cross members Il made of wood and it has been found that after rigidly connect the side members and, as shown in? being subjected to use for a time the iibers of in Fig. 4, are so shaped that their upper surfaces l he bOeTd Will breek at the peint Where mOSt between the edges of the side members are flush Of the berldlflgtakes place with the faces of said side members, providing .it 1S an ObJect of my invention t0 pIOVlde a additional board contacting area for the fulcrum. diving board construction which will properly Mounted centrally of the Side members on their Support the board betee-n ends in a manner under Sides are a' pair of journals Which are Vh-lch greatly relieve the Strain at Critisecured to a @foss Shaft al manner @al bending point' The term critical bending will permit the fulcrumto turn with respect to point is used in this instance to denote that the shaft The cross Shaft |5 may be Secured to portion of the board which is subjected to the the frame 9 in any Suitable mannen most-severe 'bendmg Strams' On that cross member Ii which is positioned .It 1S a further oblect of my mventlon to pro' nearest the anchored end of the board is a vide a construction which Will relieve the bendbracket le, having a hole n formed therein A ing strain by distributing it over a considerable bolt member s is suitably secured to the diving area. f

. oard at its u er end and extends dcwnwardl It isastill further obJect to provide a construc- ,hrough the packet I6 to a point below thi 25 m09. Whlch Wm permlt. movemen? of the sur.)- bracket, and a helical spring I9 is positioned bepoiting fulcrum. so that its supporting action will tween the lower face of the bracket and an nut be effective regardless of the degree to which the 20 on the lower end of the bolt board is bent, and an additional object is to pro- When the diving board is lsed it has been ggg gflesgsagectwely dampen the reex ac" found that there is a certain definite area in each These and further objects and advantages of board which 1s subjected to greater bending strain than any other port1on of the board. In the the invention will more fully appear in the following description made in connection with the embodlment Shown m the dra'wmg uns cmi-'wal accompanying drawing, in which like reference bending point of the board is indicated to be 5 Characters refer to the Same or similar parts approximately at the center of the board Where throughout the several views, and in Which:- it S Supported by the fulclllm- AS ShOWn by JGlle Fig. i is a side elevation of my improved divdotted lines, there is a Slight upward flexing 40 ing board construction; between the fulcrum and the anchored rear end 40 Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the fulorum; of the board, and, of course, a certain amount Fig. 3 is a side elevation thereof; of flexing in the outer portion of the board. With Fig. 4 is o. section taken on the 1in@ 4 4 of my improved fulcrum construction, however, that Fig. 3; and l part of the board which will receive the greatest Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 5 5 of amount 0f flexing is provided with an arcuate 45 Fig. l. bearing surface which Will contact a relatively In the construction illustrated, there is prolarge area of the board when it is bent and convided a resiliently flexible board 6 which is gensequently distribute the bending fOI'Ce at the erally constructed of wood. The rear end of flllCrllm OVeI' a milch greater area than if the 5o the board is rigidly anchored as by bolts 'I to customary narrow or nat topped fulcrum is used. 50 a cross member 8. The cross member is mounted When the board bends downwardly at its outer upon a suitable supporting frame 9, although end, the particular mounting of the fulcrum will the means for anchoring the end of the board and permit it to describe a rocking motion and conthe supporting frame are not an essential part sequently when the forward end of the board of my invention. has been fully depressed, the arcuate surface of 55 the fulcrum will have rocked slightly and Will be in position to provide a maximum amount of surface over which the bending force may be distributed.

After the diver leaps from the board, its natural resiliency will cause the outer end of the board to spring upward sharply and there will be a tendency for the board to rise from the ful crum supporting it and then return downward against the fulcrum with a sharp blow. However, in my construction the resilient connection between the fulcrum and the board which includes the bracket I6, the bolt I8 and the spring i9, will prevent the board from bouncing up away from the surface of the fulcrum and also act as a shock absorber to dampen the vibrations of the board. This shock absorbing action is also augmented by the arcuate shape of the rear portion of the fulcrum.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have provided a diving board construction which will greatly lengthen the life of the wooden board member by widely distributing the bending force at the critical bending point. This construction is a decided improvement over constructions where the fulcrum has produced a concentrated critical bending area because of the fact that the board has contacted the fulcrum on a transverse line of no substantial area. I have also provided means for permitting the fulcrum to shift or rock as the degree of bending changes and I have provided a construction which will greatly lessen the vibration of the board after the diver has left it.

It will, of course, be understood that Various changes may be made in the form, details, proportions and arrangement of the parts without departing from the scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:-

1. In a diving board construction, a resiliently flexible member, a support for said board, means for connecting one end of said board to said support, a fulcrum contacting said board intermediate its ends and having an arcuate upper surface, means yieldably connecting said board and said fulcrum, and a rocker support for said fulcrum.

2. In a diving board construction, a resiliently iiexible board member, means for anchoring one end i' said board, and a fulcrum beneath said board comprising a pair of longitudinal side members having longitudinally arcuate board contacting surfaces, and rigid cross members connecting said side members.

3. The structure set forth in claim 2, the upper surfaces of said cross members being ilush with the arcuate surfaces of said side members.

4. In a diving board construction, a resiliently iiexible board member anchored at one end, a fulcrum beneath said board having an arcuate contacting surface, a transverse pivotal support for said fulcrum, and means connecting said fulcrum to said board.

5. In a diving board construction, a resiliently fiem'ble board member anchored at one end, a fulcrum beneath said board having an arcuate board contacting surface, a transverse pivotal support for said fulcrum, and means yieldably connecting one end of said fulcrum to said board.

6. A frame, a diving board xed at one end to the frame, a fulcrum shaft supported by the frame, a plurality of bars rockably supported by the shaft, and a pair of members supported by the bars by which members the board is supported.

ARTHUR L. ROBBINS. 

